1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus that displays video with information indicating a gravity direction on a screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, endoscope apparatuses for displaying endoscope images with information indicating the gravity direction on screens of the display apparatuses have been developed. Display of such a gravity direction gives a reference with respect to which an image pickup surface of an image pickup portion installed in a distal end portion of an endoscope insertion portion (hereinafter, referred to as the endoscope distal end portion or simply the distal end portion) is rotated. Video display of an endoscope that is performed with a plumb (straight down) direction or a vertical (straight up) direction of the gravity direction as a reference is disclosed (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-275257).
In endoscope apparatuses that display video with information about a gravity direction on screens, conventionally, an indicator indicating a downward direction of a gravity direction has been continuously displayed on a frame of a video display area and an indicator indicating a gravity direction has been displayed on a part of a display screen (for example, at the bottom right).
In any gravity direction display, when a gravity direction of an endoscope distal end portion is a direction orthogonal to a viewed surface (an image pickup surface), it is difficult for an indicator to express a difference between a plumb (straight down) direction and a vertical (straight up) direction of the distal end portion.
In addition, in recent years, size of display devices such as an LCD has tended to decrease with decreasing size of endoscope systems, but in conventional systems, size of display devices with respect to display of an indicator has not been taken into account.